Toumani Diabate, a renowned Malian kora player, passed away on Friday at the age of 58 at the Golden Life Clinic, where he had been receiving treatment for several days.
"It is God who gives life and who gives death, and it is to Him that we return. My confidant, my pillar, my guide, my best friend, my dear dad, is gone forever," wrote his son Sidiki Diabate, who is also a musician and a kora player.
Diabate was famous for his virtuosity on the kora and his ability to blend traditional music with influences from around the world, including jazz, blues, and flamenco. He collaborated with numerous international musicians, contributing to cross-cultural musical dialogues.
In terms of awards and recognition, Diabate has received several prestigious accolades throughout his career, including:
Grammy Awards:
In 2010, he won a Grammy Award for Best Traditional World Music Album for his collaboration with the late Ali Farka Touré on the album "Ali and Toumani;"
He was also nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Contemporary World Music Album in 1999 for his solo album "New Ancient Strings."
BBC Radio 3 Awards for World Music:
He won the award for World Music Artist of the Year in 2005.
Kora Music Awards:
He received several Kora Music Awards in recognition of his contributions to African music.
Dozens of people wrote posts on social media platforms, devastated by the news of the beloved musician's imminent death, including the former Minister of Tourism of Senegal Youssou N'Dour, Grammy Award-winning Malian musician Oumou Sangare and Malian singer Salif Keita.
"[...] The world of music today loses one of its greatest ambassadors. Toumani was much more than a Kora virtuoso. He was a bridge between our ancestral traditions and modernity, an artist who knew how to carry the voice of Mali to the four corners of the world. His music transcended borders, touching hearts across cultures and languages," Sangare wrote.